The Warm-Up: Get Welbz soon

Friday's Warm-Up sends its best wishes to Danny Welbeck after his horror injury.

FRIDAYS BIG HEADLINES

Welbeck’s woe

The Warm-Up regrets to inform you it had the immense displeasure of actually attending Arsenal’s Europa League game against Sporting last night. It was a genuine horror show.

Arsenal barely mustered a decent chance to speak of and it was the kind of match that would send a speed-devouring insomniac off to sleep. Even worse, a 0-0 draw that sends Arsenal through to the last-32 will be remembered for something truly awful: the injury suffered by Danny Welbeck in the first half.

It’s hard to grasp what has happened when a player crumples to ground at the very opposite end from where you are sat. But all the warning signs were there: the frantic gestures for the physio to come and attend the scene, and even from a distance, Matteo Guendouzi‘s body language as he stood in shock with his head in his hands.

Danny Welbeck was stretchered off against SportingPA Sport

A more concrete insight was gained when fans in the seats around started sharing pictures they had been sent by friends of Welbeck’s ankle bent at a very unnatural angle. It was a genuine sickener for Arsenal - who have seen Eduardo da Silva and Aaron Ramsey go through extensive traumas due to similar looking injuries.

As yet the club have not confirmed the full extent of the injury, only that manager Unai Emery suspects an ankle break after Welbeck was immediately taken to hospital for treatment. “When one player has an injury like that, every player on the pitch they look at this injury,” said Unai Emery. “First it’s in your mind - you think for the player.”

We can’t know at this moment just how long Welbeck will be sidelined for, but with his contract running out at the end of the season it’s sadly not out of the question that he might have just played his last game for Arsenal - after one of his best runs of form for the club.

For now, all we can really say with any certainty is: get Welbz soon, Danny.

Chelsea go through too

Olivier GiroudGetty Images

Like Arsenal, Chelsea looked pretty uninspired when beating BATE Borisov 1-0 away from home to join their London rivals in the last-32.

The match was chiefly notable for Olivier Giroud finally scoring his first goal of the season at the 12th time of asking - and for arguably the worst performance of Mauricio Sarri’s reign as BATE hit the woodwork three times. Still, that’s 17 unbeaten now for Sarri (!)

In other Europa League developments, Rangers contrived to lose 4-3 to Spartan Moscow despite taking the lead three times in Russia, while Celtic picked up a very impressive 2-1 home win over RB Leipzig. Both of the Glasgow clubs are in a tense battle to qualify for the knockouts: see the group standings and the permutations here.

IN OTHER NEWS

A decent goal from elsewhere in the Europa Leage last night:

And it was a dramatic night in the MLS play-offs as Portland Timbers beat Seattle Sounders on penalties to reach the Western Conference finals. It finished 3-2 on the night to Seattle, 4-4 on aggregate, but the Portland players erroneously started celebrating as they thought the away goal they scored during extra-time would count double. It didn’t.

Skip to 1:45 here if you want to mainline the good stuff.

HEROES AND ZEROS

Heroes: The Advertising Standards Authority

Mauricio PochettinoPA Sport

A rare appearance for the ASA in these pages but we couldn’t not mention the story in the Daily Mail that the regulator has contacted Tottenham “to express concerns over posters the club commissioned boasting their new stadium would be the only place to watch Champions League football this season.”

" The posters, which appeared at London Underground stations and elsewhere at the end of last season, featured an image of their rebuilt White Hart Lane home and the message: 'The only place to watch UEFA Champions League in London.' The advertising campaign was a dig at their London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea, who failed to qualify for Europe's premier club competition and are instead playing in the UEFA Europa League. However, delays in the construction of the new stadium and Tottenham's results so far in the Champions League group phase mean it is increasingly likely no Champions League football will be played there this season."

Come on, that’s objectively hilarious.

Zeros: Paris Saint-Germain

A very serious story emerged via Football Leaks in France yesterday alleging that Paris Saint-Germain illegally racially profiled potential signings in order to limit the number of black youngsters at the club. PSG confirmed the practice but said it had been discontinued and had not been approved by club management.

" Paris Saint-Germain reaffirms its firm condemnation of all forms of discrimination, racism or ethnic monitoring. Forms with illegal content were used between 2013 and 2018 by the training centre’s department responsible for player scouting outside the Île-de-France region. These forms were introduced at the sole personal initiative of the head of this department."

RETRO CORNER

Ahead of Sunday’s big showdown, was this the most iconic Manchester derby moment? This is the story of Mario Balotelli’s ‘Why Always Me?’ shirt, as told by City kit man Chappy.

And to help you gear up for Guardiola v Mourinho part 2,344 – here’s the United manager’s most inflammatory moments, following his goading of the Juventus fans on Wednesday night.

Video - Mourinho's most Jose wind-ups: The Special One's back-catalogue of infamous antics

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COMING UP

There’s a little Friday night treat for football aficionados with the Sheffield derby taking place in the Championship tonight. You can watch highlights from that match, and all the other Football League action, in the Quest highlights show on Saturday evening.

Marcus Foley will be here on Monday to bring you frame-by-frame analysis of Jose Mourinho's latest post-match gestures.